E-Voting System Enhanced by Blockchain Integration for Ensuring Electoral Integrity

Abstract

In the contemporary democratic scenario, the secure, transparent, and trustworthy nature of digital elections is of ultimate importance. This objective is achieved via the innovative approach of Hybrid Proof-of-Stake (PoS) and Zero-Knowledge Proof (ZKP) based E-Voting System, which enhances integrity and overcomes challenges faced by the existing models. In contrast to the classical Proof-of-Authority (PoA) model, in which validators are pre-approved, the Hybrid PoS within this system decentralizes the selection of validators by the participation of all network members. It mitigates the risks of centralization and ensures fairness. The voting begins with Voter Registration, wherein Decentralized Identity (DID) establishes that the voter is eligible without revealing any relevant identity information. Through ZKP, voters authenticate their eligibility to vote and, further, acquire a voting token through a smart contract, granting them possible access to the election. Validators are selected dynamically on the basis of stake contributions in that PoS mode to ensure periodic rotation among validators to avoid collusion. In the Vote Casting Phase, ZKP encryption ensures the secrecy of the vote while allowing for its independent verification. Votes are stored immutably on the blockchain, transaction hashes being made available for the independent verification of individual votes. The Vote Validation Phase ensures that PoS-selected validators authenticate the votes and prevent double voting while enforcing the election rules to minimize manipulation risk. Finally, during the Vote Tallying & Result Declaration Phase, the smart contract tallies results and records the information permanently on a blockchain for the purposes of both transparency and protection. This system integrates Hybrid PoS for secure selection of validators and ZKP for privacy-protecting authentication, forming a scalable, fraud-resistant and verifiable e-voting framework.